I was excited and keen to see what the Odyssey experience was ahead, but it was also slightly intimidating going into some things I had never done before. Now after completing the Odyssey, I feel a sense of accomplishment and excitement because of what I encountered on my journey. The programme taught me many things which I will use now and in later times of my life such as perseverance through times of hardship and discomfort, leadership skills, and to try new things and stepping out of my comfort zone to achieve something extraordinary. My most memorable experience was going on the Leeuwin and learning how to sail, as well as climb them. A challenge was walking and the length of it, especially in the heat. This challenge taught me to never give up, and strive towards my goals. My biggest area of growth was mentally through my approach to different situations after my character development on the Odyssey programme. I would recommend to any year 8 students to take in everything and understand the purpose of the experience. Try new things and step out of your comfort zone to fully experience the programme and the wonderful things it has to offer!

At the beginning of the year when I first heard about all the challenges we had to undergo throughout the year 9 Odyssey Adventure, I was worried, nervous and didn’t recall wanting to take part in it. Now that I have completed the Odyssey Adventure, I realise that there was nothing to be worried or nervous about because it was all about building character and learning new things. I found every activity we did fun except for the community service, although I know that that was one of the very important activities.

A positive that came out of the Odyssey Adventure was learning how to do all these new things, and doing loads of different activities that I would never try at home, and without doing them through Odyssey, would never knew I liked them so much. The most memorable thing that came out of the Odyssey Adventure was going on the Leeuwin and doing all the activities that had to offer such as climbing the masts and sailing the ship.

The most challenging activity I did on the Odyssey adventure was the hike. It was most challenging because of the heat and all of the flies constantly swarming me. I overcame this experience by talking with friends the whole time trying to distract myself. The biggest area in growth for my character development was my resilience, and every morning getting up early to do another activity, even though I was already tired from the activity I did the day before.

if I was to give advice to next years year 9’s, I would say not to worry about it, but when it is time to undergo the Odyssey Adventure, take every chance you get, and do everything to the best of your ability.

Over the past two weeks, I have had many opportunities to become a better person and to grow as a man. I learnt that you should always keep going even when things get tough as I learnt on the long, hot walk. I learnt that helping the environment can be very simple but still make a very big difference, which I learnt through community service. Through all of the events that I did, I learnt it is easier to work in a team or a group than it is to work alone. My most memorable experience was on the long walk everyone singing and having fun together as one group. When I first heard about the odyssey journey I was excited but also unsure because I didn’t know what to expect, if it would be good or bad. My advice to the Year 8s going into 9 is to always put in the effort and to take the opportunities as they are given to you. Don’t pass on the chance to do something different or to try something new. My biggest area of growth probably would be teamwork and working with others to reach the same goal and to have success. Overall I enjoyed the experience and had lots of fun with friends and learnt a lot.

When I first got told that I would be participating in the odyssey program I was a little bit nervous but after hearing what we would be doing and as we got closer to it I got more and more excited about the whole experience. After the Odyssey program, I feel that I have accomplished something at school and that there is a big sense of achievement throughout everyone in the year. A big positive that I took from the experience was the friendships you make and the mates you become closer to. Doing things like sleeping in the same tent and doing all the activities together, you feel like you have become a lot closer to some of your good mates.

The most memorable experience from this program would definitely be the camp, as each day there were new activities to do and complete and even sleeping in the tents by ourselves and with our mates was good fun. The main challenge for me was overcoming my fear of heights by just doing all those activities that challenged us especially the ones that were high up. My biggest area of growth would be staying positive and my leadership skills as when there were challenges or tough times during the experience, you have to work as a team to overcome them and all be good leaders to achieve the goal. A big piece of advice for year 8’s doing this experience is to try all the activities you do, always try your best and if you are doing the Margaret River camp, bring a pillow.

Odysseus was a hero in greek mythology presenting many character traits of courage, resilience, responsibility and strength. He experienced and a long and enduring journey that last many years to return to his homeland. He faced and conquered many challenges along the way such as battling cyclopses and even battling Zeus. The Year 9 Odyssey Program doesn’t make you face mythological gods, however, it brings you challenges that you have to face and overcome. The Odyssey Program changes the way you think and act. It shows what you're about on the inside and not on the outside. Like Odysseus the Year 9’s develop many different virtues and values, most notably courage and responsibility.

From my personal experience, the Odyssey Program has been life-changing. There are many positives I took away from the experience being important life skills (cooking and cleaning.) My most memorable moment of the program was climbing up and mast of the Leeuwin and scaling across the yard to set the sails for the voyage. It was a challenging moment and one that I’ll never forget. In regards to character development, I feel that I have definitely grown in responsibility. I’ve learnt that responsibility is a lot more than cleaning your room but that it is doing what is right when everyone may not agree with you. I feel relaxed after the Odyssey Program as it was our last challenge of Year 9. Overall it was an amazing experience and I will never forget it. One bit of advice for next years year 9s is to bring a fly net as they are EVERYWHERE on the walk.

At the beginning of the year when I heard that we were gonna undertake the Odyssey program I was excited because I thought it would be cool to miss two weeks of school and get to go do a bunch of different things instead. Now that I finished Odyssey I still think it was cool that we all got to miss out on two weeks of school and we got to do so many different things that we wouldn’t usually do. One positive thing that I got out of the odyssey journey is that I enjoyed things that I wouldn’t otherwise do. For example, I enjoyed the dance that we got to do and I really enjoyed the walk. The most memorable experience from my odyssey journey is probably the walk because it was fun walking for ages with friends and singing songs while doing so. A challenge I had during the odyssey journey is refraining from complaining when on the Leeuwin because I didn’t really want to be there but I still tried to enjoy it and not complain about it. I think I’ve grown in not complaining when things are hard. For example, on the walk, I didn’t complain at all because it doesn’t help with anything it's just annoying for other people. The advice I would give to year 8s going into year 9 would be to bring and a fly net for the walk and even if you aren’t enjoying what your doing put effort in and give it a try because it makes it more fun.

At the beginning of the year when I was first told about the Odyssey experience, I was mostly indifferent about it. I was looking forward to the experience but thought that since it was so far away, there’s no point dwelling on it. During the Odyssey experience, we got to learn about courage and responsibility on the Year 9 Retreat, learn about teamwork in the Amazing Race, ‘learn the ropes’ and many other values on the Leeuwen voyage, learn about service to others on the clean-up day, learn about stepping out of the man box on the man-up day, along with theatre sports and cooking, and practice upon self-reflection on the Lazarus walk. All of these experiences helped build part of the cohort’s self-values, and helped us mature and become men. After finishing these experiences, I feel more fulfilled and happy that I have completed tasks as such above, which helped me grow and mature as a man. I think it was a unique and rewarding experience, as it taught me more about caring for others and personal values such as courage and reflection, and built upon my already present values.

Something positive I took from the Year 9 Odyssey experience was the importance of persevering through hard times. This is evident, especially, through both the walk and the Leeuwen. The walk itself was not easy. Walking 30km in the 30˚+ heat was not very fun, and nor were the flies, but we all knew that there would be an end to it where we could lie down in our tents, and so we persevered through the discomfort of the walk to reach this goal. The voyage also was not very easy. We had few breaks, and much of the day was spent pulling ropes and climbing in the heat, and the night watches didn’t make it much easier. Waking up in the cold wind to just go through the ship for an hour was uneventful, and getting back to sleep wasn’t much easier, especially for me. However, again, we all knew there would be a sanctuary when we got back to the dock and could stand on the hard floor, although the constant rocking was not much enjoyable. Despite these hardships, the Odyssey also had many enjoyable and memorable experiences. Going to the edge of the mast, while scary, was also pretty scary due to the thin ropes we were standing on which felt like they could break at any point. However, the exhilaration of standing so high up and off the edge of the boat was very fun.

To the year 8’s going into year 9, there’s something you should know. Although some things may seem boring or hard, do them. You don’t get many chances to go on a boat like the Leeuwen or reflect on your life, so take the chance, when you can, to do as much as you can. Oh, and bring a flynet on the walk.

The Odyssey program was well and truly a once in a lifetime experience and it will always remain unforgettable to me. At the start of the year when the whole year 9 cohort was told about the odyssey experience, we all were so very excited. We could not wait to get 2 weeks off school and even then all we could think about was how good this odyssey experience will be. When the time rolled around for odyssey, my group was first for the Leeuwin and so we headed to the port and embarked on our journey. Apart from a few of us getting seasick (including myself), we took away a lot of personal life lessons and values off the Leeuwin such as community spirit and leadership. The experience was amazing climbing the mast and doing all the ropes, and especially for those year 8’s doing the Leeuwin next year bring some sea sickness medication. Overall the Leeuwin was a great part of the odyssey experience and is almost unforgettable.

The community service, the retreat and the camp & walk at Westview farm taught us valuable lessons for our character growth and development. The walk taught us teamwork and perseverance, the community service taught us to care and look out for others, and show compassion, and the retreat taught us responsibilities and to show courage in times of need. A real challenge on the odyssey experience was the walk in the heat with no fly net. It was really tough, and it took a lot of perseverance to push through. After finishing the odyssey experience I look back and see all the character growth and values we learnt over the fortnight, and the maturity a lot of boys have shown. Overall this odyssey experience will always have a place in my memories at Aquinas College.

The Odyssey adventure only spanned a duration of two weeks, but the Odyssey journey began as we first came to school at the beginning of the year, as we began year 9 at Aquinas College. This journey has taught the entire cohort various life skills and values, including of perseverance, grit, respect and patience. When we were first told about the challenges we had to look forward to, all I could feel was dread with activities such as a 27-kilometre walk or swinging around in the sails of the Leeuwin didn’t fill me with excitement, but sitting here now I can confidently say I would not trade those two weeks with anything else. Both the activities provided and the good times that you and your friends constructed were a joy to have.

There were many positives that I could take out of the odyssey journey, but one which I feel was most important was the emphasis on “becoming a man”. This idea was repeated throughout the fortnight in many ways, including looking after the Leeuwin for an hour at night, completing the entire hike without a teacher watching at all times or through the lessons taught on the year 9 retreat. For me, the most memorable moment was the Leeuwin, as this was definitely an experience I will never have the pleasure of completing again. For me, a challenge of this program was the walk, as 6 hours of almost constant walking came with some difficulties but the friendship of the others around made this an entertaining part of the adventure. The largest area which I developed from the experience was my perseverance, with the activities forcing me to never give up and to keep trying. I understand that some year 8s may be worried about this adventure but if I was to provide any advice to them it would be to try every activity to the fullest as that way you will get the best out of them.